Alexandria

Site description:

Alexandria was established on the site of an existing small settlement and became a cosmopolitan city, and the capital of the Ptolemaic empire. The archaeological exploration of the ancient city has been hindered by the continual occupation of the city since its foundation and the submergence of the royal quarter in the eastern harbour. Significant and renowned architectural structures include the Mouseion and Library, the Soma, the Pharos lighthouse and the Serapeum. There are extensive cemeteries in the eastern and western suburbs.

Type of site:

Temples; town; tombs

Timeframe:

Temples (Graeco-Roman Period-Late Antique Period); town(Graeco-Roman Period-Late Antique Period); tombs (Graeco-Roman Period-Late Antique Period)

Excavation season:

Relevant publications:

Breccia, Evaristo 1922. Alexandrea ad Aegyptum : a guide to the ancient and modern town, and to its Graeco-Roman Museum. Bergamo: Istituto Italiano d'Arti Grafiche.

McKenzie, Judith 2007. The architecture of Alexandria and Egypt, c. 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. New Haven, CT; London: Yale University Press.

Steen, Gareth L. (ed.) 1993. Alexandria: the site and the history. New York; London: New York University Press.

Tkaczow, Barbara. 1993. Topography of Ancient Alexandria : (an archaeological map). Varsovie : Centre d'archéologie Méditerranéenne de l'Académie Polonaise des Sciences.